Interview & edits by Paula Hemphill
Sarah, you had a really unique start as a CA-- making this ministry totally your own and partnering with local small businesses! What inspired you to connect to your business owner friends? It all started when I partnered with my younger sister, Rachel, and her cupcake business that just started last year, called Sprinkle of Kindness Bakery in my home state of Maryland. Both of us have a strong passion for loving people well and giving hope and light to the people around us-- especially those who most people would consider the least of these. Looking back on it, I really feel that God ordained the year (2017) when I would be come an ambassador for World Vision, and my sister would start her cupcake business so that we could work together in a special way. It goes far beyond just giving people cupcakes but it's allowing people to be a part of something much bigger than themselves. You partnered with a few different businesses. How did you approach them? My first approach like I said before was with my sister Rachel. God had already been working in her spirit about using her small business for more than just pretty cakes and cupcakes. So when we actually spoke about partnering together we both were really excited to see how God would use us even though we are living in two different states. She ended up sponsoring a little boy from the Philippines through this! I'm hoping she will become a Child Ambassador one day! The second small business (Artean Creations) that I partnered with actually approached me and asked about the possibility of collaborating in order to get the children I had at the time sponsorsed. This collaboration was really cool, and looking back again was totally a God thing! At the time I ordered folders for only babies in Armenia for the simple fact that the Middle East has always had a special place in my heart. I'm not sure why but God has put a love and a compassion in my heart for the people in the Middle East that I can't explain. After talking to my friend who owns Artean Creations, she told me that she, too, is Armenian and would love to give back in this way. How cool is that?!? I had no clue that she was Armenian but her connection to the country made everything much more special. My most recent collaboration was with Little Miss Sassy Children's Boutique. The owner and I are friends so I asked her one day if she would be interested in partnering with me in order to get kids sponsored? I told her not only will it get her business out there to more people but it also changes the life of a child in need. She hopped right on board! She created angel earrings for those who chose to sponsor a child. She loves kids and has three little ones of her own. I know you had some really cool promotions during these partnerships. What did you do as promotions? My first promo was with Sprinkle of Kindness Bakery. To those who sponsor a child in the DC metro area they got a half a dozen cupcakes for FREE as our thank you for giving hope to a child in need. The second promo was with Artean Creations. She makes beautiful, luxurious handmade soaps and lotions. Whoever sponsorsed one of my Armenian babies would get samples of her handmade lotions and soap! My mother sponsorsed a little girl from Armenia and she got goodies from Artean Creations and she loved them! Little Miss Sassy Children's Boutique promo, I mentioned it above. She made beautiful handmade angel earrings for those who choose to sponsor. I thought it was a very fitting gift. Those are some really incredible partnerships you created! How did they help fill a void in your ministry and your friends' businesses? For my ministry, I want everyone to know that they are appreciated. Even though it's a small gift, I want people who sponsor a child to know how thankful I am that they would step up and be there for a child in need. The gifts offered by these businesses were a token of that appreciation. As for how it helped my friends businesses, you would have to ask them. But I certainly hope and trust that it was a blessing to each business and that God uses what they did and are doing to grow their businesses and to make them flourish! Throughout this journey as a CA you've also recruited at least two new CAs, your husband Andrew, and a friend, Keylee. I'd love to ask you some questions about how those connections happened, as well! How did your ministry impact Andrew's heart? And what made him choose to become a CA himself? Andrew said my care and love for the kids impacted his heart. We went to the CA conference together in October and what he saw and learned opened up his eyes to what we as the body of Christ need to be doing. He was truly inspired after the conference. You've also recruited a friend, what did that conversation look like and how did you know she might just be a CA in waiting? My friend Keylee is a student at our local college here in East Tennessee. She lived with Andrew and I over the summer. We spent a lot of time together and I would share my passions with her and I would listen to the passions God placed on her heart. She cares about people, and I know she will do a good job as she continues to grow as a CA! She was one of the first few people I was able to connect with a child. Shortly after she sponsorsed a child she became an ambassador. How does being CAs together impact your marriage? I really hoped Andrew would jump on board and become a child ambassador with me. I was stoked when he did! We started our relationship/marriage off very passionate about doing whatever God calls us to do. We hope to go overseas one day to do missions work. Being able to do this ministry here in the USA while he finishes serving in our military and as a civilian firefighter is great! It's given us more of a vision and purpose in our marriage. He also is everything I'm not. He's brave and funny and can light up any room he walks into. I'm thankful to be able to have him by my side. Is there anything else you'd like us to know? Feel free to share openly! I'm so so so thankful to be able to be apart of a group of like-minded people. You all inspire me daily! I can't wait to continue to grow with all of you! I would encourage everyone to ask friends and family members who have small businesses if they would be interested in partnering with you in changing the world! Not only are you helping them grow their businesses but you are also allowing them to be a part of something bigger than themselves! I believe every soul longs to make a difference and leave a lasting mark on this world and this would be a perfect way to do that together! Contributed by Laura Walls with Alicia Williams Child Ambassador Alicia Williams has the kind of vibrant, welcoming personality that makes everyone feel like they're her dear friend. Originally from Jamaica, Alicia has lived in Florida for the past 17 years with her husband and their three sons (ages 12, 8, and 4). She first learned about World Vision child sponsorship at a Women of Faith conference four years ago and knew she wanted to sponsor a child, but when she headed to the sponsorship table, she was overwhelmed. She returned to her hotel and prayed, "Lord, please. You will have to show me." The next morning, Alicia heard the Lord say the child's name, "Chikondi," loud and clear. She remembered seeing Chikondi's picture folder the day before and as she made her way to the sponsorship table, she knew the Lord had Chikondi's folder still there waiting. As Alicia filled out the sponsorship form, she could barely hold back her tears. The following year, Alicia chose two more children to sponsor - Alex from Romania and a little girl from India. Months later, another girl from Colombia joined their sponsorship family. Her son teased, "Are you going to leave any kids for anyone else?" That desire to see all children find sponsors was perhaps why, when Alicia received an email last year inviting her to join the Child Ambassador program, she knew it was going to be a perfect fit. She was already sharing about her four sponsored children with friends and family, loved doing missions work, and felt led to connect others to the joy of sponsorship, as well! She signed up as a child ambassador in March of 2017. Later that spring, as she and her husband, a pilot, were planning their family vacation, Alicia realized their destination was only a three hour flight from Romania, where Alex lived. "In the World Vision magazines I had read stories of other sponsors visiting their children and I have always been inspired by them. I never dreamed I would be able to travel so far to visit them. I had considered choosing children that live closer to the U.S. so that I would be able to visit them but ...God had other plans! He led me (through very unique and direct ways) to these special children even though they live thousands of miles away from us. Getting to travel so far to meet Alex just goes to show that we should never put God in our own little box because He is bigger than we can ever imagine." Alicia and her family knew meeting Alex would be the highlight of their vacation and they told everyone they knew about their upcoming visit - including their Uber driver, Mehmet, in Amsterdam. When they told him they were going to Romania next, he wondered why and, as they shared about Alex and World Vision's work there, Mehmet was moved. "This is a lovely story," he said. He went on to explain that he was supposed to have picked up someone else that morning but his coffee spilled and he had to stop and get cleaned up. He said, "I believe I was supposed to spill my coffee so I could hear this story!" He grew very excited and shared that he wanted to give 15 euros to Alex. When Alicia explained that she wasn't able to give Alex a cash gift, he smiled, "Then buy him something with it." "We will never forget Mehmet as long as we live!" Alicia continued. "God lined that up. That was in the works for him to give to a boy that he doesn't know and that we hadn't even met yet! We went and bought Alex a traditional knapsack with the euros." Once in Romania, Alicia and her family went to meet Alex and his mom. Alicia shared, "The visit took place in the city, not far from the village where Alex lives. As we saw them for the first time, I was overcome with emotion. Walking towards them, tears filled my eyes and I was practically speechless. We met Alex, his younger brother, and his mother. I was so touched as Alex approached me holding a lovely bouquet of flowers. I thought 'Am I really hugging Alex? Is this for real?' His mother was also very emotional and during the first half an hour of the visit, we both were wiping away tears of joy as we got to know each other." Language wasn't a barrier for the children. "Alex and his brother didn't know a word of English and yet the kids could still speak to each other and understand and laugh. It was so nice to see them interacting! They played soccer, laughed, raced, and even talked about who had bigger muscles! There was a splashing fountain in the square and soon they were laughing and playing, soaking wet in their clothes, while we watched. Alex, being the eldest of the group, decided not to get wet, but still enjoyed himself on the sidelines. Alex's mother kept saying that everything about the visit was so perfect, how grateful she was to be able to meet us, and how thankful she was for all the support we have given them." She was especially moved by the backpack from Mehmet. "Alex's mother started crying all over again at how a stranger had something to give to her son!" After spending over five hours together it was time to part. Of course there were more tears (even from one of Alicia's sons), as they exchanged lots of goodbye hugs. Alicia reflected, "Who would have thought we could make such an impact on the life of a family in a small village on the other side of the world? World Vision helps to make that happen and makes it so easy for us to make the connection! God continues to bless us and we continue to help them and we believe the impact will multiply many times over as kindness spreads. It's a wonderful cycle!" A Few More Thoughts from Alicia: On the hope that you may one day visit your own sponsored child: We should never put God in our own little box. He is bigger than we could ever imagine!!! On how poverty looks different in each country: Some people have said "Alex and his family don't look poor. Do they really need your help?" But I've learned that poverty looks different in different countries. Alex isn't barefoot and malnourished but poverty is such a deep-rooted thing. It can also be about not having a voice or knowing that children have value. Additionally, there is cold weather poverty where a family may struggle because of the added expenses of winter. I've learned (more now) about the root causes of poverty in Romania and the way that communism and oppression affected that nation. On sharing sponsorship with those who haven't heard of World Vision: I've started sharing the World Vision magazine with people who haven't heard about World Vision before and would like more information before making a decision. (Alicia then follows up with them about the stories they read.) On sharing with her church: Megan Caddell has been so helpful! She said, "Think about what's a big thing for your church. How can we link that with sponsorship?" My church is really big on ministry to kids. So in going to them, my thing was to say, "We have programs to help kids in our community, now how can we expand our reach to take that children's ministry around the world?!" Contributed by Randi Jo Rooks / edited by Paula Hemphill One of my first thoughts when I considered becoming a child ambassador for World Vision was: I don’t want people to feel like they are a target. I’d made this mistake in the past– being so passionate about MY agenda (even if it was an amazing & godly one) that I didn’t actually even SEE the person in front of me. I’ve also had this happen to me way too often and it hurts. I remember one particular lonely season I went through where I really just needed to be seen. However, it seemed that despite my prayers, the Lord only brought people into my life that just wanted something from me. They wanted me to come to church to increase their attendance, to invite me to their network marketing business, or to invite me to buy one of their products. If I didn’t say “yes” to whatever the person was asking of me, they disappeared. I’m so grateful the Lord allowed me to go through this pain. It was such a special lesson that He would use to bless others in my future. I knew that if I was accepted as a Child Ambassador, I wanted the mindset that I was not just trying to get from people, I was giving an opportunity and a blessing. All this world does is ask, ask, ask of us without even seeing us. But the Lord... He cares about the ONE and He cares so intimately. I knew He would want me to be a good steward of the heart right in front of me. So He had me write down a list of ways that sponsorship blesses the sponsor. {side note: I encourage you if you haven’t already, to write down what you are offering. Write down all the ways that sponsorship blesses the sponsor! I would love to share my own list with you sometime, but I encourage you to write your own with the Lord!} We are on mission to help the poor. Children born into material poverty. But also the poor around us. Poverty comes in so many forms. In our culture, we are a self-focused people full of poverty of mind, spirit, and relationship. We are a people that trust in self-- not God. So you and I, as ambassadors, we are missionaries here and we are on our field. God has planted us exactly where He wants us and His Word is clear. We represent Him. We are His ambassadors. In these past four years as a Child Ambassador, I have found that oftentimes what starts as a World Vision conversation turns into a much deeper conversation. Conversations about God’s love, the meaning of “blessing”, and most often His undeserved favor and grace. Many times these conversations lead me to ask the person to sponsor… but sometimes they don’t. And that’s ok. Many times, I believe that the very pain this person in front of me is sharing could be comforted and helped by a connection with a World Vision child. The perspective that comes with a global mentality that sponsorship gives is truly one of the ways the Lord is healing the poverty around us. We must have an urgency to be the voice for children that are suffering, but more and more I am hearing the Lord to ask me to let Him be the pace setter. I must rest in His sovereignty and know that my CA ministry is a marathon. I can have spurts of sprints, but ultimately, I realize I am an ambassador for life and He is helping my rash personality trust His pace. I believe that more children will be sponsored in the long run because I obey what He is asking of me now. Every ministry is different and how we minister will look different. Our paces are different. We each have different personalities and different callings. Our fields are full of different people, so we cannot compare our ministries to each other! We are His ambassadors! We have the Living Water in us. We have what the world is in desperate need of! So be a good steward of the hearts right in front of you. Listen to them. See the person right in front of you. See how you can bless and encourage them and have God’s love for them. Do not let your heart become bitter or prideful at any lack of compassion, any materialistic mindset, or self righteousness you see in the person in front of you. Instead, see their poverty. Believe the Lord can free them. Offer the gift of sponsorship and plant small seeds and pray for that soul! The field is right around us and we are His ambassadors. Contributed by Paula Hemphill with an intro by Laura Walls At our Child Ambassador Conference this year, we talked a lot about stories - the story Jesus tells in Matthew 25, World Vision's story told through a mini Vision Trip experience, and our stories - each of us unique in our own perspective and gifts; each of us being used by God in His perfect timing and way for His glory! Here on the blog, we wanted to bring some of that conference experience home to you, starting with the story of child ambassador, Paula Hemphill. Paula's story is really a God story. It's about how, just when we think we know the next chapter, God smiles and says, "See, I am doing a NEW thing!" As you read along, remember that God delights in YOU and loves you! He isn't finished with you yet! (Phil. 1:6.) Even if I never get another child sponsored ever again, I still know this is where I’m supposed to be. I said those words to Megan sometime in 2016. And I meant them. I was writing for this blog and serving on the Leadership Team. I felt seen and valued by World Vision and I was able to use my gifts for the ministry and to glorify God-- even if in a more unconventional way. I was really content with this (even if I thought I was an old and washed-up Child Ambassador with a completely tapped out circle of influence). And then January 4, 2017 happened. That's the funny thing about God. I think He loves us best when we're uncomfortable so He doesn't let us stay super content for very long.
Now, there's just a little back story here. I am a CA but I'm also involved in a mentorship program for college students called The Joshua Project (TJP). It's this really awesome and very chill program designed for college students who desire a mentorship/discipleship relationship. I was invited into this program by my friend and fellow CA, Shelley Morrow. For some reason she thought I would be a "great" mentor. I thought she was crazy. Honestly, I still do, but somehow, by the grace of God, I signed up and became a mentor. You'll have to ask my mentees about how great of a mentor I am and I'll pay them after they tell you that I'm the best and also the coolest. So fast forward a bit and I'm a mentor. As a mentor I get emails from the program director, Cyrus Eaton. And I always respond to these emails in a timely manner. I'm type A and like to keep my stuff organized, so when I get an email, I respond. And for two years he saw my name, "Paula Hemphill, Child Ambassador, World Vision" and it didn't mean anything to him. Until January 4, 2017. Little did I know that Cyrus had been praying for a way to involve students in a broader global mission-- a way for them to plug into a bigger, broken story, and to love more like Jesus. That day he saw my email signature and asked how TJP and WV could possibly partner together for the honor and glory of King Jesus. So, rather than respond with 8,000 ideas (which is always so tempting) I said, "Let's get coffee so I can hear your heart for your student body." I had never met this guy before. I had to Facebook stalk him before our meeting so I had some semblance of an idea who I was looking for. I walked into that meeting genuinely thinking this was going to be a really nice cup of coffee and not much else - and I was half right. It was a really nice cup of coffee. We chatted about Lipscomb and about TJP and I asked him to tell me what his dream for his student body was. I remember very distinctly praying silently for wisdom before that coffee and I felt in my soul I had one job. That job was to LISTEN. It wasn't to offer big fancy programming or my ideas for what would be good for ME. It was to really listen to his heart for his students. I remember looking him square in the eye and saying, "Dream the dream, Cyrus. If you could dream up ANYTHING for this student body, what would it be?" And his dream... it was this big, beautiful dream of community for his students. Community centered around helping those most in need. After I'd listened for a while he asked me about how World Vision could partner. And so, I started out with the easy ideas: Sponsorship Chapel, 30 Hour Famine, etc. And every time I offered an idea I diligently watched his body language. I wasn't really seeing any excitement over my first few offerings. As a CA team we were swiftly approaching the Global 6k for water date. So, I would have been remiss not to mention that. There was a slight change there. He liked the idea of a community event where friends could walk together for a cause, but he knew college students would be unlikely to pay the registration fee. I told him we didn't have to do an official Global 6k. We could build our own event. He seemed to like the idea of fundraising, but the causes that mattered to the student body were still very unclear to me. So, I looked him straight in the eye and I said, "You know this student body. What matters to them? Is it maternal health? Human trafficking? You name it, we probably do it." In that moment he said something about refugees and immigrants. And I said, "We are one of the leading providers of aid to refugees in the world. In fact, we have this amazing program called the Refugee Responder. It's similar to a sponsorship, in that it's a monthly pledge, but the monies fund those in refugee camps." I watched him visibly pull away from the table. And, I'm going to be honest, I didn't know if that was a good thing or not. I knew I had said something that affected him. I just didn't know if it was good or bad. And then... I knew. Because all of sudden he is all fired up and spouting off CRAZY but amazingly beautiful ideas. And then he says, "What if we commissioned the entire student body to be child ambassadors for the day? And what if only 10% of the students actually found a RR. How many people could we help?!?" And I was the one taking a deep breath and pulling away from the table right then. Because as a CA, up until this moment, I really thought I had to make a hard sell to get someone like Cyrus on board with the work of World Vision. But I was so very wrong. I didn't sell anything. In fact, I remember saying to him, "I am just throwing out ideas. I am NOT trying to sell you on them. I want what is best for y'all. And if that is World Vision, I want to walk it out with you. If it is not, I still want to walk it out with you because I believe in this program you have here." In 6 weeks we did 6 months of work. I don't recommend that particular game plan, but it's what we did. And everything that could possibly go right went right as far as building the event. We had the support of the highest up on the campus. We had the full support of World Vision. I called to ask Megan for a guest speaker - and not just any guest speaker - I wanted HER to fly in from Seattle. When I told her the date of the event I needed her for, she laughed. She was already going to be in town scouting out venues for conference! I felt supported, loved, and empowered to go out and do this thing that was too huge for me. So in turn, I could support, empower, and love the student body to go out and share this story that was too big for them. I watched a teeny tiny group of students' hearts catch fire. And it changed my life and my heart. Forever. One of my deepest desires is to continue to fan that flame. At the end of it all, we walked 2k in solidarity and prayer for those who flee their homes. We stopped along the way and those same students led us in a time of education and prayer. This event is one of the most special things I've ever been a part of. We didn't see huge numbers of refugee responders. And although that may have been the original goal, I think what God showed us was that He can do big things with small people as long as they are willing. For me, I was just an old washed up CA who had tapped out her circle of influence. And, honestly, I'm still that girl. But now I see what God can do with an old washed up CA. He can take her and drop her into a magical moment that only He can ordain. And let me tell you, that old, washed up CA can't believe He would choose HER for the job. Contributed by Laura Walls I was so happy to have the chance to talk with new Child Ambassador, Emily Smith, from LA! Emily has served as a child ambassador for less than six months, but the Lord has been preparing her heart and her community for this ministry for years! Read along to hear how the Lord is moving in Louisiana! The World Vision logo was a familiar sight as Emily Smith was growing up in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Her family sponsored Halima from Niger and Emily remembers writing and receiving letters from her friend who lived halfway around the world. "Sponsoring with my family gave me experience with World Vision and inspired me to sponsor children of my own as an adult. Sponsorship was also part of the way my mom taught me to love others by serving them." Emily's interest in serving "the least of these" continued and even expanded when, at the Global Leadership Summit in 2016, she had the opportunity to hear Father Daniel, a 25 year old Chaldean priest from Iraq who spoke about the refugees whom he serves. Emily shared a moment that impacted her greatly. "I remember Father Daniel prayed and then looked out at the audience and said, 'I’m asking you to pray for my people and I’m asking you to save my people.'” (Check out Father Daniel's story here or in the video below!) "Beyond Words" In that moment, Emily knew she wanted to be part of a solution. Soon she and some of her friends began getting together weekly as a small group to pray and seek the Lord on what they could do to help globally. They decided to focus their group on Jesus' words in Matthew 25, taking each portion, studying what Jesus said, and praying about how it should impact their involvement in the world. For verse 35, "I was hungry…" they learned about and prayed over the hunger crisis in East Africa. For "I was thirsty," they studied the impact of clean water and learned about the Global 6K. The idea that they could host their own event and make an impact on the lives of others was deeply appealing and the group, now known as "Beyond Words," went to work. A decision was made to keep their 6K unaffiliated with a specific church as many of those interested in participating were not involved in a church or were from different churches. The "Beyond Words" group boldly reached out to area businesses for support. Emily spoke to her workplace, Waitr, to see if they might be willing to offer a promo code to reduce the price of registration for Waitr employees. But the business offered more than that, instead opting to cover the cost of registration for all employees who participated! Additional area businesses offered cups of water, produce for snacks, and door prizes. The Global 6K turned into a community-wide event with 50 participants walking or running for clean water and 15 child sponsorships! Emily shared a contributing factor to the Global 6K's success, "A lot of people around here know what it’s like to work really hard and lose all of it in an instant." As a result, they relate to others who are suffering and long to help them. Following the Global 6K, Emily heard about the World Vision Child Ambassador program and was excited that it would give her the opportunity to connect others to a child through sponsorship. She signed up in May and, including the sponsorships through the Global 6K, has impacted 43 children* around the world in less than six months! One of Emily's favorite experiences in sharing sponsorship came at the end of the Global 6K event. A woman from her church came up and gave her and her friends a hug and a heartfelt thank you. She explained that her husband had recently passed away. "I have seen enough of death." she shared. "I want to do something that will bring LIFE." She then reached out to sponsor a child. Emily continued, "It's a sweet experience to see how sponsorship is definitely changing the life of the child but also the way that it impacts the life of the sponsor, as well!" * The 43 connections included Refugee Responder commitments. Three Tips from Emily for your Child Ambassador Ministry!1 - Pray a lot. I pray over each of the folders and my small group prays over the kids - that they would find sponsors. 2 - Find a good group of supportive friends and believers who will be there for you. Your network together with theirs will be greater! 3 - Talk to any and everybody: Reach outside of your church where others may not be connected with an organization and may be looking for a way to get involved! A look around the Global 6K in Lake Charles! Father Daniel's Story: Contributed by Javy Diaz / edited by Paula Hemphill A while back a friend and I had a conversation over lunch at work. She said, "You know, Javy, financially there will never be a time where I'm going to have it together enough to sponsor a kid." "I totally understand," I said, "but if it's important to you, you'll find a way to make it work." Yeah, I really did that! "...Yeah. You're right. It is important. Let's do it!" she said after a moment. Then her friend chimed in, "Yeah! Me too. I want to do it too! It is important. We are so blessed. Why shouldn't we give to these little ones?" So we go upstairs to my desk and they pick out their kiddos. And that was amazing. But wait. There's more. These ladies are filling out their sponsorship forms and another co-worker walks by. "What's going on here?" she asks. I'm like, "We're transforming lives! What are YOU doing?" "How?" she asks. "Through World Vision. All the cool kids are doing it! You in?" I say. She's like, "Yeah, let's do it." Best. Lunch. Ever. You never know what God is up to. But know that He is always up to something. And how cool is it that He invites us into it with Him? P.S. meet my friends and fellow world changers! guest post by Cari Conklin / edited by Paula Hemphill God is ever faithful. In famine. In war. In disease. He never falters. Even when we do.
I've been mulling over this recently and it drew me to this beautiful passage of scripture: You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tables of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. - 2 Corinthians 3:2-6 How beautiful is this gentle reminder that not only are we God’s love letter to the world but, just as the church of Corinth was the letter of recommendation for the work of the disciples, the children we champion and minister to are ours? And our work is empowered by the Spirit of the living God. The comparison between hard, unforgiving stone and the soft place at the center of life that sends the oxygen out to the body proposes to me the notion that we must take great care as we steward the stories of the children we serve. When I remember the children we serve, I remember my own heart. I think each of us is borne with desires deep within our souls. I know, I was. I want life. I want love. And likewise: I want to share life. I want to share love. And hope. Hope may just be the greatest of all the things we could possibly give or receive. Hope in hearts changes everything. I believe it to be true because that’s how God wired me. That's how God wired US. Because we are here. Together. In this journey of bringing hope to the nations. We have been called to carry out the simple message that every single human being was imprinted in God’s image. Not just with dignity deserving of love, but with the desire to share that out of the abundance of the love we have received through the Spirit of Christ. And that call? It isn't always easy... Many days, being a CA feels like being in the middle of a storm-- a tornado-- where we are tossed and turned by the winds of others' apathy. It is painful and can feel so lonely. But we are not alone. We are in God’s will-- living out His greatest command to love Him and then others as we do ourselves. And though the winds of apathy rage around us, we are in the safest place in the middle of a storm-- at the center of His heart. It doesn’t matter what debris is flying through the air as the tornado touches down because God has us safely under His arm, listening to His breath, and clinging to His Word-- where His Spirit gives life. Friends let's remember: we have what this world needs right now. We have the best mission with the best and biggest love the world could ever imagine. The kind that renews and restores us to do more every day, even when it rips our heart out. God has written a love story to the world on the tablets of our hearts. Let's go and share it together. contributed by Jim Naugle / edited by Paula Hemphill I'm not exactly a Child Ambassador superstar. I haven't presented an event where dozens of children were sponsored. I haven't earned enough sponsorships to go on a Vision Trip. During my six years of being a Child Ambassador, I generally got a few kids sponsored each year and talked at a church or two. I’d send out several emails to friends and local churches which usually went unanswered. I took solace in the fact that I was changing lives one at a time, but I kept having the feeling that I could be doing more. This year has been a little different. I have scheduled significantly more meetings with pastors and church committees. I’ve had more one-on-one conversations with friends and acquaintances about sponsorship. I'm on pace to have more sponsorships and refugee responders than previous years. As I reflect on trying to figure out what is different this year, I see that the answer lies in my relationships with other Child Ambassadors.
I think of the time I heard Child Ambassador Javy Diaz talk about how if we each just got 1 sponsorship a month, that would be 12 in a year, and we would crush our goals as a team. I remember Megan Caddell telling us how successful Child Ambassadors don’t have a special formula, they just arrange child sponsorships by reaching out-- one person at a time. Then there’s Dee Billing who suggested that I rely less on emails and focus more on personal, direct phone calls. At last year’s Child Ambassador Conference Merrill Swenke sat on stage, play acting her role as a Child Ambassador as she made the point that she makes time during her workday to call churches and that she is persistent. I recall fellow CA, Sue Kurnett, posting on Facebook that during the year of her 50th birthday she set a goal to get 50 children connected to 50 sponsors. I remember Rich Stearns’ talk last year when he demonstrated the seriousness of the Syrian refugee crisis by comparing the numbers of refugees with the populations of 19 U.S. cities: Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Denver, Albuquerque, Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin, Indianapolis, Columbus, Nashville, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Detroit. Stu and Celeste Sherman shared an audio version of their Syrian refugee talk which allowed me to get started on my own presentation by liberally borrowing-- or perhaps stealing-- from their talk. I retain the image of ten Child Ambassadors standing at last year’s Child Ambassador dinner, each one invited to see World Vision’s work in Rwanda and the inspiration that provides for the rest of us to strive for the same goal. And I consider Paula Hemphill and how she reaches out to her child ambassador team with regular contact and prayer. There's a common thread here. I met all of these people at conference over the past six years. Each one has provided a piece of the puzzle, a building block to becoming an effective Child Ambassador. Each one of them has been inspiring, encouraging, setting the bar a little higher each year as I meet them at conference. God leads the right people to conference year after year and as Javy Diaz wrote in his blog, God combines them as parts of an orchestra into one beautiful song. The symphony continues in October and if you haven't been to Child Ambassador conference, I fully recommend it. It will change how you approach being a Child Ambassador. You will meet people who will carry you along on the journey. You will be inspired. I know because it happened to me. Hope to see you in October. Sign up here! Contributed by Laura Walls We're nearing the close of our 7-day Matthew 25 Challenge and I'm kinda wishing I could go back to Monday and start it all over again, this time with my family on board! It was our first week of school and I was struggling to keep track of all that was going on and, as a result, I decided to make the challenge a personal one and not include my family. But you know what? After going through and watching the videos and participating in the daily challenges, I realized that I missed a really beautiful, kid-friendly opportunity to grow spiritually with my kids! I'm already looking forward to my next chance to do this and this time, I'm going to invite my family to be challenged, as well! How about YOU? How was your week??? I feel kinda guilty to admit it, but I was surprised at how effectively these simple challenges impacted my heart and my perspective! It was a really humbling feeling to realize that I was fighting within myself to spend even one night on the floor when so many millions of people have no choice. Or that I was so worried about the way that one night on the floor might impact my children's ability to study in school the next day when millions of children have to cope with all of these challenges together EVERY DAY. It was a powerful wake up call. And it's not over! Not only do we have two more days in the Matthew 25 Challenge but, as child ambassadors, we have an additional challenge, as well. What are we going to DO about the experience we've just had? My friends, tomorrow we are going to spend 30 minutes on a prayer walk to pray for those whom we've walked alongside in our challenge this week. As we pray for those who are hungry, thirsty, without clothes, sick, and imprisoned, let's also pray that the Lord would lead us to a way in which we can ACT on their behalf. Let's pray for BOLDNESS! Let's ask our Father to give us courage to ask AGAIN where we've heard them respond, "no." Let's ask for the filling of His Spirit to empower us to speak to leaders in our churches and communities and tell them about what we've experienced and invite them to be part of it, too! A Call for YOU! World Vision is issuing a NATION-WIDE call to YOU, child ambassador team. This is our chance to take the experience that we've just shared and invite others to be part of it the week of November 12th, leading up to Sunday, November 19th. This is our opportunity to act in "such a time as this." In so many ways, the world is deeply troubled right now. I personally feel Matthew 25 is like a clarion call to the church to focus our attention on what matters to God and to show the world that He is righteous and good, loving and courageous, merciful and gracious and wants ALL THE NATIONS to be reconciled to Him. And World Vision, located in so many of the world's hardest places, is right where the Lord has led them to be so that He can be known and praised in some of the most difficult places on earth! So tomorrow, pray for the way in which you will be involved. Will you invite your church to host a Matthew 25 Experience like child ambassador Carmen Brooks? Will you share with other churches in your community? It's a powerful event and there are some great reasons to invite other churches to experience it! Merrill Swenke has found a church in the Dallas area that is really excited about hosting a Matthew 25 Sunday on November 19th! Will you have a home party and invite a group of friends to take on the Matthew 25 Challenge together and host a Matthew 25 Sunday in your home? Courtney Crowder is preparing something special for some of her friends! Or will the Lord lead you to do something else to share this call with His church? Let us know how He leads you! We want to be praying for you! Other Dates It IS possible to host a Matthew 25 Sunday ANYTIME throughout the year, so if you need to choose a different date, that is completely fine! However, note that the Matthew 25 Challenge sent out via text is ONLY available the week of November 12th. (On a personal note, I'm going to be praying and working to find a church willing to host a Matthew 25 Sunday on November 19th because I LOVE the Matthew 25 Challenge so much that I want to share it throughout the community, as well!) Contributed by Laura Walls in Ideas for your Ministry This past May, I had the chance to travel to my hometown of Hastings, MN to serve Christ's Family Church with their Matthew 25 Experience. It wasn't my home church, but I'd grown to truly love this church's heart for God and felt as though they were an extension of my own church family. After two years of meetings and emails, the Lord brought everything together and Christ's Family Church hosted the very first Matthew 25 Experience in the nation! The way that God laid the groundwork for all involved was breathtaking and the materials provided by World Vision for this experience were perfect! The Matthew 25 Experience is so loving and compassionate to the church hosting it and I was proud to share it with them! Following are five reasons why I think the Matthew 25 Experience is ideal for YOUR church, as well! I couldn't see her face but my mom's voice carried a smile through the phone, "Do you have a minute? There's just something I have to share with you!"
She went on to read a letter from her new sponsored child, Vanessa, in Rwanda. She laughed in delight at how Vanessa called this letter "a golden opportunity" to thank my mom for choosing her. As I listened to the letter, I smiled and was reminded of the moment when Vanessa's picture folder lay on a table at Christ's Family Church in Minnesota following their Matthew 25 Weekend Experience. It had been a powerful weekend, one that impacted many hearts in a lasting way! Pastors Joe Hannah and Paris Pasch along with the missions team had planned this event for many weeks with great anticipation. But the end result was greater than anyone expected! Ultimately their loving preparations along with World Vision's Matthew 25 resources, were used by the Holy Spirit to produce an exciting weekend that enabled the congregation to join together in following Christ's call to care for the "least of these!" But what Christ's Family Church experienced isn't limited to them. In fact, the Matthew 25 Experience would work well for ANY church and here are five reasons why! 1) It makes love its aim. (1 Corinthians 14:1) The Matthew 25 Experience doesn't simply inspire us to show love to the poor, rather this experience is about loving the church, as well. Its goal is to see the church come closer to God through this event. Its focus is love, pure and simple, and that comes across in every aspect of this resource - from the beautiful, eight minute video that shares the many ways a family in the United States seeks to live out their faith; to the interactive story cards that invite people to step outside their normal lives and into the shoes of a child on the other side of the world - every moment is designed to show love to those listening. 2) It gently communicates something that we all long for - deeper meaning and connection. In our hurried lives here in the United States, we often lack real connectedness with God and others. We quickly move from distraction to distraction, missing out on the real meaning and purpose that Christ longs for us to enjoy. The Matthew 25 Experience is a gentle invitation to remember that in loving the thirsty, the hungry, and the stranger, we are loving Christ. And in doing that, we experience joy as the Holy Spirit moves in our hearts to make us fruitful. 3) It moves us from knowledge of God to action through Him. There is a difference between knowing a lot information about God and living a life that is compelled by a desire to live out that faith, rooted in Christ's love. I say this because I have lived it. I attended nearly 12 years of Christian school, and was part of countless Bible studies and Sunday School classes. But eight years ago, I realized that I had very nearly missed the whole point. You see, I knew a lot about God but I was still living as though the purpose of my life was about me. At that time, after going through many years of struggling with depression, I realized that the purpose of my life wasn't about me at all. I realized that the purpose of my life was to bring glory to God and to align myself with His purpose and through that rotation of focus, God brought about the joy and fulfillment that I'd been longing for. The Matthew 25 Experience can be used by God to revitalize the life of your church in a similar way. It gives us opportunity to live out our faith in a tangible way aligning our hearts with His global purpose. It moves us from knowledge of God to action through Him, and as we do so, God uses it to breathe into us His life and hope! 4) It gives us a way to live out Matthew 25 in our own lives. Reading Matthew 25, we see that acting to meet the needs of the thirsty, the hungry, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner matters to God. In fact, it matters so much that His followers will be divided into two groups based on whether or not they did those things. We are told that the King will say, "in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me." We may be an ocean removed from people who lack access to clean water. We may not personally know the children who are dying from the food crisis in East Africa or those who are sick and without access to medicine. We may not know of a way to help the displaced refugee who is a stranger or those who are detained in a refugee camp but through this opportunity, we can be part of changing their lives in a real way. By hosting a Matthew 25 Sunday, we are giving an opportunity to love Christ by loving "the least of these." 5) It awakens our spirit, provoking a desire for something more. I have served as a volunteer child ambassador for seven years, sharing about child sponsorship through World Vision with many, many churches. And through the years, I've been surprised by how often times I've had people come to sponsor a child with their eyes full of tears. I've heard many of them say, "I just don't know why I'm crying!" Not long ago, I heard an explanation for this reaction that really rings true to me. Tim Dearborn, Director of Faith and Development at World Vision International described it in terms of hunger. He wrote, "In cases of severe malnutrition, the aid worker seeks to provoke hunger in the starving child. Mercifully, after weeks without food, a child's digestive system shuts down, gastric juices cease to flow and hunger pangs disappear. Aid workers dip their fingers in sugar water and gently place them in the child's mouth, rubbing the child's chapped lips. If a child starts crying, the aid worker knows he or she has probably won the battle against death, for crying means the appetite has been reawakened." I truly believe that the cries of a child as their stomach awakens to their deep hunger corresponds in a spiritual way to the tears of so many new child sponsors I've met. They cry because their spirit is awakening to the deep hunger within them to experience God. And in welcoming a little child, they are welcoming him. I believe that all believers want to have an active faith that lives out Matthew 25. I think we long to experience something of significance, to live lives of meaning and purpose, and to see the face of our Savior but we don't always know how to take those steps to live out a more active faith. The Matthew 25 Experience can be used by God in our churches to give us that opportunity and to awaken us spiritually to cry out for more of him! As child ambassadors, we have the privilege of stewarding these moments of transformation. We have the honor of introducing our friends, families, and churches to deepen their walks with God through obedience and faithfulness to his leading. Through this ministry, we serve the Lord not only by helping the poor and oppressed but also by inviting our family in Christ, the church, to experience the blessing of a glimpse of the face of God as they receive a child in the name of Jesus (Mt 18:5). Are you interested in hosting a Matthew 25 Experience at your church? If so, you can find out more information here! How about the Matthew 25 Challenge? The Matthew 25 Challenge is a week-long, message-based experience rooted in God's word. It includes daily sacrificial challenges, powerful stories, and prayer points. It's a glimpse into the lives of those whom Jesus calls, "the least of these," and a chance for us to walk with the children and families we serve in this ministry. It's also an opportunity for us to preview this resource so we can more effectively reach out to individuals and churches in our area! Are you in? Text M25CA to 44888 to take on the Matthew 25 Challenge with the CA team on August 14-19! (But let's keep this preview between our Child Ambassador team and immediate family members for now! We'll have an experience you can share coming soon!) |
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